Allardyce to leave hospital on Saturday

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce is expected to be discharged from hospital on Saturday after undergoing heart surgery on Friday, the club has confirmed.

Allardyce, 55, underwent an angioplasty, a procedure to correct narrowing to one branch of his coronary arteries.

Rovers club doctor Phil Batty said: "The procedure has gone well and Sam is expected to be discharged from hospital on Saturday."

Allardyce said: "I would like to thank everyone who has sent messages of goodwill and the entire cardiology team."

Allardyce, who has missed Blackburn's last two matches, will be absent from the dugout again on Saturday when Rovers host Stoke at Ewood Park in the Barclays Premier League, with assistant Neil McDonald again taking charge of the team.

It is not yet known whether the manager will be fit enough to return to his duties ahead of Wednesday's Carling Cup quarter-final against Chelsea, although it is anticipated that he will be back in time for the Premier League clash with Liverpool at Ewood Park on December 5.